Free Republic

NEW YORK The Pentagon would be required to grant journalists access to ceremonies honoring fallen military personnel, under a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation is significant because it would, for the first time since Vietnam, let photojournalists capture the powerful images of flag-draped caskets arriving on American soil during wartime. This week the bill won the endorsement of the National Press Photographers Association. The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act, or H.R. 6662, was introduced July 30 by Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.), a member of the House Committee on Armed Services. The bill states: "The...

WASHINGTON – Members of Congress are beginning to have second thoughts about the ban on incandescent light bulbs effective in 2014 as a result of an energy bill signed into law earlier this year. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, says his objection is very basic – the Constitution doesn’t authorize Congress to do anything remotely like banning a product that has been used safely and efficiently for more than 100 years in favor of Chinese-imported compact fluorescent light bulbs that pose considerable health and safety risks. Extensive cleanup is required by the Environmental Protection Agency for simply breaking a bulb. When...

WASHINGTON — The Texas Department of Transportation, long viewed as hyperpartisan and arrogant by some members of the state's congressional delegation, has been trying to soften its image by reaching out to lawmakers of both parties in the nation's capital. But while state transportation officials are having some success in easing the personal animus, they still face a stiff challenge in selling their policy agenda to the state's elected officials in Washington. Many Texans on the Potomac cringe at the agency's embrace of toll roads, the controversies surrounding the Trans-Texas Corridor and TxDOT's resistance to many of the highway earmarks...

Saying he's "more of a Reaganite than Ronald Reagan," a group of military veterans are backing the presidential candidacy of U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter, (R-Calif.) Hunter has served 13 terms in the House representing the San Diego area, home to a major navy base, and was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He remains the ranking Republican member. Hunter announced his race for the presidency earlier this week in South Carolina. Larry Bailey, a retired U.S. Navy Seal, is behind the push by his fellow veterans. "Duncan has been a friend for 20 years," Bailey said. "He was in...

Inspector confronted on Capitol Hill, says promised 'proof' does not exist A Department of Homeland Security official admitted today the agency misled Congress when it contended it possessed investigative reports proving Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean confessed guilt and declared they "wanted to shoot some Mexicans" prior to the incident that led to their imprisonment. The admission came during the testimony of DHS Inspector General Richard L. Skinner before the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, according to Michael Green, press secretary for Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas. Culberson was questioning Skinner about a meeting DHS...

Long-awaited incident reports regarding the case of two convicted El Paso Border Patrol agents were delivered to Congress on Monday evening but have been classified secret from the general public. The Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investment and Oversight obtained the report after submitting an emergency Freedom of Information Act request for the documents. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said he will not review the classified documents until they are made available to the public. Poe expects a redacted version will be made available soon. "I want to read what the public will get to read," Poe said. "The real question...

In the high-profile case of two U.S. Border Patrol officers imprisoned after shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler, two Department of Homeland Security documents apparently contradict the version of events put forth by the U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted the case. The internal Department of Homeland Security memoranda – which have been denied Congress despite repeated requests by two House members – show that within one month of the shooting incident involving Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, government investigators had identified the smuggler as Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila. But this seems to contradict U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's claim...

While the Bush administration seeks amnesty for illegal aliens and grants immunity to a Mexican drug smuggler, it has thrown the book at two courageous Border Patrol agents. Fabens, Texas — The chase was on. The suspected smuggler van turned back toward the Rio Grande and headed for Mexico. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos was on his tail. Other agents were also converging on the scene. The suspect realized he wasn't going to outrun agent Ramos' vehicle, and so he abandoned his van on a levee and took off on foot. As the suspect headed into the canal, Ramos yelled...

HAS THE SUPREME COURT LOST ITS WAY? -- (House of Representatives - June 13, 2005) Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to ask a question, and that question is relatively simple. By what legal authority do justices of our Supreme Court use foreign world tribunals, global opinion, and the philosophy of European elites in making their decisions, those decisions that affect all Americans of this Nation? By what license, by what authority do members of America's highest court ignore our Constitution, the Constitution they took an oath to defend, and why do they cite foreign court decisions at all, decisions from...

Thank you for your help during this busy election cycle. It paid off in a big way! Galveston County Republicans not only picked up two more county-wide seats, but also helped get President George W. Bush reelected and increased the Republican majority in both the U.S. and State Senate and House of Representatives. It's was time to celebrate and we did! We had a grand 'ole celebration party on Friday, November 19, 2004 at the Wayne Johnson Community Center at Carbide Park. Carbide Park is located at 4102 Main Street (FM 519) in LaMarque, Texas. Was glad to see all...

Poe's local celebrity and President Bush's popularity are reasons veteran 'Rat politician Lampson trails in polls.

GOP Could Pick Up 5 House Seats by John Gizzi Posted Oct 22, 2004 With a week to go before Americans vote in all 435 congressional districts, Republicans look poised to expand their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, based largely on favorable redistricting since the 2000 census. In the swing states of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, Republicans managed to dominate the redistricting process after the census, raising the number of safe Republican seats there. In Texas, a masterful (if controversial and belated) redistricting is now almost certain to yield the bulk of national Republican gains in this election...

Democrats keep up with Republican opponents in campaign fund raising Associated Press AUSTIN (AP) — Texas' Democratic incumbents kept pace last quarter with the fund-raising efforts of their Republican challengers in congressional districts that were redrawn last year to favor the GOP. Republican leaders engineered the redistricting effort to eliminate a half-dozen incumbent Democrats from Congress. Five of the Democratic incumbents will be on the November ballot facing Republican challengers. The five Democrats raised a total of $3.08 million in the quarter ending June 30, compared to their Republican challengers, who raised $3.12 million. "This really shows that the Republicans...